Lost in the Everfree Forest
by Justaboredpersonlol
Summary: Brandon, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Pinkie Pie are all lost in the Everfree Forest after they all agree to gather gems with Rarity. Trapped in a hardly explored region, they don't know what to expect. Will Pinkie Pie drive Brandon crazy before they get out? Or will Brandon and Pinkie have a whole new view on eachother? But, who knows? Only me! Fifth book in my series.
1. One morning

"Brandon! Breakfast is ready!" Fluttershy called upstairs. No answer. "Brandon?...Hello?" _The one day I make breakfast..._she thought to herself. And flew upstairs. "Brandon?" Fluttershy looked around and saw him asleep on the floor. Somehow he rolled out of bed and didn't wake himself up. She smiled at how tired out he was, it was kind of cute, she thought. "Brandon," she said sweetly, nudging him with her nose, "wake up, sleepyhead." His response was a groan. A groan that said "I love you, but go away. Sleepy." She kept trying, "I made breakfast," she smiled. "Wake up, please." He looked at her, "Shy...please..." "I told you to not stay out so late," she started giving him a motherly tone. Brandon had a hangover. Big MacIntosh's birthday was last night, so Brandon, Caramel, Carrot Cake, and Big Mac all went out drinking. He really needed guy friends. The girls were nice, but he can't really go out drinking with them. And Spike wasn't exactly mature enough to follow all of their jokes. "I didn't come back that late." "You walked in an hour ago." "...Ok, but atleast I wasn't drunk." "Oh, sweetie, you passed out as soon as you got in bed." He realized she knew and saw everything. "Fine," he said, "What's for breakfast?" "Eggs and coffee," she smiled sweetly. _Bitch move, Fluttershy, _he thought. Brandon realized that Fluttershy made that whenever she cooked, so she wasn't meaning to do anything. He formed a fake smile and said reluctantly, "Yum...let's eat...?"

Rarity has been awake for quite some time now, finishing a new dress for a client in Manehattan. _These gems will look marvelous with the color! Now, just a few more on the front, and maybe a couple on the side..._she thought to herself as she used her magic ability to levitate some gems out of her box, but when she started lifting nothing she realized something. _Oh no. All out of gems. So quickly? _She then realized that Sweetie Belle borrowed a couple of them. But when Sweetie means "a couple" she usually means "half the box." "Oh, now I've got to go gather more! With all of the monsters near my usual gathering ground, I'll need help. Who will help me? Spike's away to Canterlot, Twilight just bought the newest _No More Ponies _book, Rainbow Dash is at some flight camp reunion, Applejack's working on the barn, no surprise there. That leaves..."

A few hours later the world seemed to be bearable. It was only a small headache that bothered him now. Fluttershy sat in front of him at the breakfast table the way she usually does: Stirring her coffee with one hoof, don't ask how she does it, and her other hoof holding her head up as she talked to Brandon. There wasn't that much to talk about. The last couple of weeks had been really quiet. Brandon took a sip of his coffee and asked, "Do you want to go see a play?" Fluttershy thought for a moment, "The only thing showing is _Daring Do: Live Action, _and...we all know how plays based off of books turn out..." Brandon shuddered. _Starswirl's Lost Documents _will haunt him to the grave. It was at that moment Rarity came walking toward them, "Hello! I hope I'm not interupting anything, but I have a favor to ask of Brandon. It's really important!" Brandon took a sip from his coffee, but not before asking what she needed from him. "I need somepony to gather gems with me. I'd do it by myself but the town bulletin claims that there have been an increase in monster activity, and all of that...dirt...I would be ever so grateful if you could accompany me." Brandon seemed okay with it, but Fluttershy's protective instincts kicked in. By protective, it really means worrisome. "But, if you run into any monsters, they could hurt you! Or worse. What will I do?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. Fluttershy continued her series of questions until Brandon snapped her out of it by grabbing her hoof. "Shy, I'm going to be fine. I've fought monsters before. If I can kill an 80 foot lizard, then I can kill a little goblin or timber wolf. I've got your knife, it's brought me good luck, remember?" She mumbled an "mmhmm" before kissing him. "Ok...just be safe. I love you." "I love you too."  
He got out of his seat, and they started walking. Brandon asked Rarity where her usual gem gathering spot is. "Oh, it's near a mountain in the Everfree Forest. It shouldn't be hard to get to, unless we get trapped there at night. Let me just get my things. I wasn't sure you'd come! Sweetie Belle will be so glad!"  
Brandon was sort of surprised. Not dissapointed, but surprised. "Oh, cool. Sweetie's coming?" "Yes. She wouldn't stop begging me to let her go. I told her as long as you would go, she can go." Rarity appreciated how much of an older brother he acted toward Sweetie Belle. The little filly always wanted a brother, for some reason, but her parents decided that two's enough. Brandon was probably the closest thing she'd get, and she didn't care.  
Rarity continued on, "Oh, Pinkie Pie will be happy, too!"

"Oh, great!...Wait...what...?"


	2. Diggers and Shovels

The gem gatherers were trekking through the Everfree Forest, following Rarity's lead, in order to get to her usual hunting ground before dark. Brandon was getting annoyed by Sweetie Belle and Pinkie's constant talking. The thing is, he cares about both of them deeply, but it's like riding on a long car ride with your younger sibling. You love them, but being with them for an extended period of time will wear on your mental state. Sweetie Belle, he could handle, since he loved children, and they loved him back. But Pinkie...was something else.  
"Brandon! Have you ever tried hay?" Pinkie asked. "Uh, no. I haven't. I've never really thought about it," He told her, trying to stir away from the conversation. That didn't work. "Oh, you totally should! At first I thought I wouldn't like it, but I did! It tasted great! When we get back to town I'll ask Applejack to let you try it!" "Uh...thanks for the offer, but I'll stick to eating my diet of eggs, and anything that doesn't really involve dried grass and wild flowers." "Aw, come on! I know you'd like it if you tried it!" She kept telling him over and over. "No, thank you, Pinkie." "Just one little bit? A tiny bit? A little, ittle, bitty, bit?" "Pinkie!" "What? Oh. Sorry." She realized he was getting annoyed. Sweetie Belle was admiring Brandon's knife, which he kept strapped to his leg. "How sharp is that?" she asked him, in a more curious than worried tone. "It's pretty sharp, I guess," Brandon told her as he pulled his knife out, letting her get a closer look. "Brandon, you put that thing back around my little sister! It could slip out of those hands of yours! It could-" "Allright, allright. I get it," he told her and put it back in it's case. They kept walking in silence until they came across some rocky terrain. Rarity's face started glowing, "There we go! I'll mark the places where the gems are, and you three dig and put them in in the bag. I really appreciate this." The instructions were simple, but Brandon had a question, "Where are the shovels?" There was a blank stare coming from all three of the ponies. "...You guys don't use shovels?" Still continuing that blank stare. Until Pinkie Pie started teasing him, "Shovel? That's a dumb name. Are you just making things up?" "But, Pinkie, I've seen you and Applejack use shovels. They just look different." "I don't even know what that is! How could I use something that I don't know?" Brandon couldn't tell if she was serious, or if she was messing with him. He decided to play it safe, "Pinkie, what about that dragon migration? YOU told me you used a shovel to dig the hole!" Pinkie's eyes went from confused to enlightened, "Ohhh! You mean a digger!" "Yes! Exactly! A-wait. What?" Pinkie felt she had to teach her friend something today. "A digger! It's what ponies use when they need to dig a big hole that their hooves can't use!"

Brandon stopped. There was no way he could win this. He just started digging with his hands, which took a pretty long while. Pinkie hopped to Brandon and started digging with him, "Pinkie, go away. I'm digging this spot. I thought you had yours?" "Everything's more fun when you do things together!" _She's really getting on my nerves..._he thought to himself, _if she says one more positive thing I will kill each and every one of us.__ Take a deep breath. Calm down._He decided to take the less direct route. "Pinkie, if we don't hurry and dig up the gems Rarity finds, then we'll be trapped here at night." "So I should help Sweetie Belle?" The filly couldn't help but overhear and eyes filled with terror when she heard it. She started shaking her head at Brandon, signaling him to say no. "No, no, Pinkie. Just...go dig your own spot, ok?" He expected her to be hurt, but she obviously didn't know how to feel any negative emotion. She just gave him an excited "Ok!" and smiled.

Brandon kept digging, uncovering a couple of gems. "Well," he told himself, "If this whole 'Guardian of Equestria' thing doesn't work out, I could always re-invent and sell the shovel, saying it's a better version of diggers."


	3. You gotta go Neest!

Fluttershy sat in her home, reading one of Brandon's Earth magazines. Still no identification of the strange_ creatures seen infiltrating Project Paladin Base. Unknown motive, eye witnesses say they looked like horses, but looked different. Possibly an experiment go wrong, but whatever it is has the internet in a spark as it has not died down since the months of their first appearance, _she read. She thought about what that meant for a moment. _Oh! That's us! Wow, I never thought I'd be in the paper! Wait till I tell Brandon! _She got up to go feed Angel Bunny, who was impatiently tapping his foot in front of her. As she got the rabbit feed out from the cabinet, she told Angel all about what she read. "It's so exciting! I've never been in the paper before!...Oh, I guess I have. I forgot about the time I was a model. Oh, I can't believe I haven't told him that! Do you think it would make a good story?" Angel just nodded his head, he wasn't listening, he just wanted his food. She kept talking, which was rare for Fluttershy. "I wonder if he's ok. It's getting dark now...He should be back. I hope he's ok..."

"Pinkie, give me the map!" Brandon told her. "Nah, it's ok, I can do it! She replied back to him, "You don't have to be bothered with the map. You're carrying the gems after all!" Pinkie was trying to be nice, but it wasn't working. "Yeah, on my back! Rarity isn't carrying the gems. Give the map to her!" "Rarity never does the work. I don't wanna force some pony into changing their style! It's rude." Brandon wanted her to give the map to someone who could walk and read at the same time. It would be a lot easier if they didn't have to stop every 5 minutes to see if they were going the right way. "Pinkie, please..." He resorted to begging, that's serious. "I can do it!" She looked at her map. We need to go Neest." "Neest? What is Neest?" Oh crap...she didn't...

"Neest! It's that way!" She pointed in one direction with her hoof. Rarity walked over to Pinkie Pie and her eyes got wide when she saw the map. "Darling, the map is sideways. And you're not even pointing 'Neest'! You're pointing south. We're supposed to go East." Brandon took the map, "Great. She got us lost. Now what do we do?" Rarity magically levitated the map toward her, "easy! We just find our location on this map and go from there!" Sweetie Belle noticed a noise coming from the shrubbery behind her, "Guys...what's that noise?" They all turned around and saw a band of Kobolds, mischievous goblin-like creatures, accompanied by what seemed to be a manticore. "Gems! Get them!" The giant leader said, releasing the manticore from it's chain leash.

"Oh, you have got to be freakin' kidding me."


	4. In the cave

Fluttershy walked in circles in her living room, _I'm so bored,_ she thought to herself. _And worried! What if something happened? No, no. I've got to think rationally. They probably just stayed to help Rarity with her dress. He'll be home any moment now. Good! Now to entertain myself._

  
She opened up her notebook and started to draw. Something she hadn't done since flight camp. Fluttershy fondly remembered everything that her classroom doodles always ended up being put on the fridge by her mom and...sadly taken down by her dad. Angel tugged on her tail, asking her in his own way what she was doing. "Momma's going to draw..." she trailed off on that thought. What was she going to draw? "Hmm...I guess I'll draw all of my friends. Starting with...Twilight? No! Brandon." Somehow Angel Bunny knew she'd start with him. "Speaking of Brandon, I wonder where he is..."

The gatherers sat in a cave, covered up by rock. Trapped. Brandon spoke first, "well, that went to hell quicker than I thought it would. Good job everypony." "It's not like we knew the manticore would trap us in the cave!" Rarity said, comforting a crying Sweetie Belle. Pinkie was trying to look through cracks in the rocks, "Talk about rude! Is there any way out of here?" Brandon looked at his datapad, luckily he never left home without it, "Well, judging from my datapad's radar, there is another exit..." The ponies faces all had a look of hope about them, "But...it's about 5 miles long." There went the smiles. Sweetie Belle managed to talk through her sobs and sniffles, "B-but, I'm so tired! That sounds so long, too!" Brandon took another look, "well it's not that long, but, I understand. Let's just stay here and rest before heading out. Does that sound ok?" The only one to disagree with that plan was, of course, Rarity. "I will NOT spend the night in this dank, dark cave! Celestia knows what's in here! All of the dirt...I demand you walk me home, now!" Brandon knew he wouldn't get her to stop whining..."Rarity, you can sleep on my jacket, ok? Just stop...and go to sleep." She pouted at first, "Fine. At least you're being a gentleman about it." He took off his jacket and put it on the ground, in which Rarity immediately took advantage of. "Goodnight, everypony!" Fast asleep. Sometimes she was just as hard to figure out as Pinkie Pie. Brandon just leaned on a stalagmite and closed his eyes. Until Sweetie Belle poked his face, "Brandon, can I sleep next to you?" "What about Rarity?" He looked at Sweetie's older sister and saw the mare sprawled out on his jacket. "...Sure," he told her, to which she quickly layed down next to him. "How far is it?" He closed his eyes, "About an hour and a half walk. I haven't even considered the distance between here and Ponyville, either. Let's just go to sleep." "Ok."


	5. Rock Farming

Fluttershy woke up with the drawing book stuck to her face. "Oh no...I fell asleep. Brandon's probably upstairs." She rushed up the steps to see that the bed was still empty. " Oh, well, I guess he just slept over at Rarity's if he got back too late. He'll be home any minute. I'll just take my mind off with a couple of drawings and then I'll go over to get him. I'll let him have a few hours of rest." She sat back down on the living room floor and put the pencil in her mouth, continuing to sketch her self, since she finished Brandon last night. It looked pretty good, but the hair just couldn't be done right.

"We're almost out, girls. Just 15 more minutes," Brandon told his companions, who were lagging behind, except for Pinkie. "I noticed we're a lot alike, Brandon!" She said, trying to strike up a conversation. She was riding on his last nerve. "No, we're not," he paused for a moment, "Don't ever say that again." Most would take that as an insult, but she just giggled and said, "No, silly! I don't mean how we are now! I mean how we were before!" "I don't follow," he looked at her with confusion planted on his face. "I didn't tell you about my childhood? Oh! Good! I was running out of things to talk about!" She was actually worried. "Oh, I was worried," Brandon told her sarcastically. As Brandon listened to Pinkie's story about the rock farm, he realized she was right. They both had it pretty rough. They both had a strict dad and a crappy childhood. But, Pinkie pointed out the other similarities between them. They both loved their sisters, lost their mothers at a young age. The difference between that was that Pinkie's mother was still alive, but dissapeared for a time until she returned a couple of years later. She finished her story and looked at Brandon for a response. He was shocked..."Wow, so after all of that you still smile? You spent a good fraction of your life on a rock farm with rules stopping you from doing everything but eating and pushing rocks?" "Yup! I kind of miss it, though." He realized something...she wasn't annoying because that's just how she was. She was annoying because she missed out on her whole childhood and was pretty much living it, making up for those lost years. It was sad, really.  
"Sorry, I've been giving you such a hard time, Pinkie." And he was sorry. He had no idea what kind of life she lived. He thought she was always like this. "Oh, it's ok! I thought it was just our thing." "...Our 'thing'?" "Yeah! All best friends have a 'thing'! You pretend to not be able to stand me, and I keep annoying you! That's our thing, and I like it!" He smiled, she was actually pretty cool.

"I see the way out!" Sweetie Belle screamed, sprinting toward the light at the end of the tunnel, but being followed by the rest of the group.  
When they finally got out they were greeted by a scary sight...  
Rarity spoke first, "Brandon...did you know these guys were waiting out here?" "...It was a possibility, but I didn't think they were this smart..."

They looked at the band of Kobolds staring at them, dead in the face. Their weapons being raised.

Brandon looked around and saw who he was fighting with.  
"Well...this should be...hard."


	6. No rest

Brandon sat down his backpack, filled to the brim with gems, and pulled out his knife. Twenty on Three, not counting Sweetie Belle. He charged in to battle, taking out a couple while the girls searched for a way to get out. The kobold's clubs made it tough for Brandon to get a few hits in.

After making sure a group of the goblin rejects wouldn't hurt any pony anymore, he forgot something. The manticore. What was left of the kobolds got tackled by the loose manticore. It's deafening roar made Brandon stop in his tracks. When he looked he saw the beast heading right for him, swiping it's claws in his direction, he dodged it's attack, but doing so made him fall. The monster was right on top of him and roared right in Brandon's face, letting him know he was about to die and the manticore was going to kill him. He would've done it, too, if the monster hadn't been stopped by a rock thrown by none other than Pinkie Pie. "Hey, Scorpion! Have some pink with your green?" The Manticore started creeping toward Pinkie, taking her offer. "Pinkie, you idiot!" He screamed to her as he picked up his knife and ran to rescue her. He noticed that he couldn't get close because of it's scorpion-like tail. He did another scan, all in a few seconds, and noticed the kobold camp had a catapult. Why do they have a catapult? Who knows. He couldn't get to it in time, though. "Sweetie! Catch!" He yelled to the filly, being closest to the catapult, and threw, hitting the tree next to her. She used all of the strength in her to pry it out and start cutting the rope.

"Hey! Lion..scorpion...thing, step away from my best friend!" He screamed to it, drawing it near the catapult. A few mechanics were missing in it, so if he put it in the right position, the rocks would smash right onto the monster. Pinkie yelled out in excitement, "You said it! You called me your best friend! Sweetie, did you hear that?" Sweetie Belle ignored Pinkie, she had a job to do. The manticore was ready to lunge. It's legs were positioned, and it was ready to tear Brandon apart. Brandon closed his eyes, and all he heard was a roar interrupted by a loud cracking noise. He opened his eyes and saw the monster has been knocked out by the catapult. He didn't expect it to work that well. Rarity shouted from behind a shrub, "Is the fighting over yet?" And she popped her head out like a gopher out of a hole. Pinkie gave Brandon a tackling hug, "You saved me!" He just smiled and got up, "I couldn't let you die with that lame one-liner. Go out with SOME dignity next time." She smiled, knowing it was a joke. Sweetie Belle tried talking with the knife in her mouth, but the only audible words were, "I did good! And I got to see how sharp it was!" Brandon took the knife and put it back in his pocket.

Rarity congratulated the fighters, "Wonderful job!...But now we need to get home." Brandon picked up a map from the kobold leader, and studied it for a moment.

"I think we go...Neest?" He said, pointing south. They laughed and made their way home, but not before getting the gem bags. There was no way they'd forget this little adventure.


	7. Return

Fluttershy stuck another drawing on the fridge, she'd been doing it since last night. _This is a good one of me. _She told herself. Shy heard a voice coming from the front door, "Shy? Fluttershy, I made it back!" Brandon yelled as he walked in. Fluttershy walked into the living room and said, "Welcome home! Was it fun?" while giving him a hug and kiss. "It was an...experience. Did you occupy yourself while I was gone?" She yawned and said "More or less. The night wasn't much fun without you." He kissed her again, "You tired? I didn't get much sleep." Her eyes were half open, "Me either...I stayed up all night waiting for you. I think I'll take a short nap. Do you want to join me?" He nodded, "Sure, but first I'm going to get a drink out of the fridge. I'll meet you upstairs."

Fluttershy lied down into bed, and had already closed her eyes. She had a few moments to think...

_We really have the perfect relationship...we understand each other, even though we're almost complete opposites. I wonder what will happen if we break up...? No, no, I shouldn't think like that. No. But still...could we be together forever?_

"Shy," he called from downstairs, "Why is there so much paper all over the fridge?" He examined it. All of them were drawings. Most of them were of him and her, in some romantically depicted way. Others consisted their friends. There was one that really caught his eye. One that had her in a dress, and the words above it wrote _Which one sounds better? Fluttershy Ashford or Fluttershy Di Patensia?_

He smiled at the idea that was being presented, got his drink, and made his way upstairs. "Did you say something, sweetie?" She asked him. Every few days was a new pet name. He could care less, but she wanted the perfect name.

"Nothing. Go to sleep. I love you." "I love you too, um...baby?"

He chuckled at the new pet name for him. It would probably last a few days before she switched to a new one. "Yeah...I know, beautiful."

**THE END**


End file.
